All the news that's fit to print.

August Rains

Roscoe in Years Gone By

(from The Abilene Reporter, November 26, 1909)

LOCAL TEACHERS IN ROSCOE TODAY-----WHERE TEXAS & PACIFIC TEACHERS ASSOCIATION IS IN A 2 DAYS’ SESSION-----FIVE WILL BE ON PROGRAM-----Attendance Likely to Reach 250, with Teachers from Every Point of Good Size in Central West Texas-----

Some twenty-five, possibly thirty, instructors in the various schools of Abilene boarded the early morning westbound train today for Roscoe, where the Texas & Pacific Teachers’ Association convened this morning at nine o’clock. The Abilene delegation will be absent from the city until Saturday night at midnight. They were joined here by teachers from the rural communities.

Five local instructors will participate in the program. Superintendent J. H. Burnett will deliver an address on “Some difficulties that a superintendent has to solve.” Principal E. B. Looney of the High School will discuss Latin in the High School. Mrs. E. W. Vawter will talk on how to deal with tardiness, the Round Table will be discussed by Miss Anna Evans, while Mrs. Nannie E. Avriett will discuss nature study in the second grade.

The large attendance of teachers may be explained by the fact that the school board granted the teachers of the public schools a holiday that they might attend. This is rather an unprecedented step and shows that the board is determined that Abilene shall not only not be behind in such matters, but shall actually take the initiative.

The Texas & Pacific, Roscoe Snyder & Pacific, and Orient roads granted a fare of one and a third for the association. Sweetwater entertained all teachers who came over the Orient and waited there for connections. It is estimated that the total attendance of teachers will be between two hundred and two hundred and fifty teachers from such points as Abilene, Merkel, Trent, Sweetwater, Cisco, Baird, Big Springs, Midland, Roby, Stanton, Colorado City, Haskell, Snyder, and Anson.

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Plowboy Football

Local Wildlife

This was the first time I'd seen my garden buddy since early spring..

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Africanized Bees Attack Woman, Kill Dogs at Home on Main Street

Africanized bees and normal honey bees look alike.

Carolyn
Smith, who lives at 900 Main, was stung over a hundred times and her
two small Schnauzer dogs were killed by bee stings on Sunday afternoon.
The Africanized bees, also known as "killer bees," are a particularly aggressive
strain, and their presence in Roscoe is not good news as more trouble
may be on the way later on when the weather gets warmer.

The
bees, which were in the roof of an old storage shed in the home’s back
yard, attacked Ms. Smith and her two dogs there. A former beekeeper,
Doyle Mitchell of Loraine, was called. He smoked them, which makes them
more docile, and then killed them all.

Mitchell says that the
Africanized bees, which are a mix of the African and domestic honey bees, look just like normal honey bees, so you can’t tell
the two apart by their appearance. The Africanized ones also pollinate plants and otherwise
act just like normal bees until they feel threatened. That’s when their
difference comes out because they are much more aggressive and prone to
attack in large numbers.

Mitchell cautions people to be careful
around places where the bees might have a colony, places such as attics,
old tires, hollow trees, or water meters. He says a Loraine man was
stung over 500 times last summer and almost died when he flipped over a
plastic horse-watering pan with his foot. Mitchell also adds that if you
do locate a swarm or colony of bees, under no circumstances should you
splash them with soapy water or spray them with WD-40 or hornet or wasp spray. Unlike yellow jackets, they don’t die immediately, and you’re
unlikely to get them all anyway. The safe thing to do is to call a pest
control company or someone like Doyle Mitchell, who has plenty of
experience with bees.

He says you can call him at 325-933-0113 if
you find a swarm or colony of bees on your property. If possible, he
tries to catch them with a vacuum device and replace the queen with a domestic queen. Then all the bees she propagates will be normal honey
bees and will replace all the Africanized bees within a couple of
weeks, since that’s the usual life span of bees.

--o--

TEXAS PRIMARY ELECTION NEXT TUESDAY, MARCH 1, EARLY VOTING IN PROGRESS

Precinct 6 voting will take place in the Community Center.

The
Texas Primary Election Day is next Tuesday, March 1, at the Roscoe
Community Center for those living in Roscoe’s Precinct 6. Early voting
began yesterday and will last through Friday of this week. On Election
Day, voting will last from 7am to 7pm. Voting will be by party, and
several local offices are being contested as well as state and national.

Terry
Willman will run unopposed for County Commissioner, Pct. 1, but other
local races are contested. Three candidates are running for County
Sheriff: David Warren, Ray Cornutt, and Kevin Turner; and two for
District Attorney, 32nd District: John Young and Ricky Thompson.

On
the state level, five Republicans are running to take Susan King’s
place as State Representative, District 71: Brian Scalf, Chris Carnohan,
Isaac Castro, Stacey Scaief, and Stan Lambert. All are from Abilene
except Castro, who is from Hamlin. Other contested state races include
Railroad Commissioner; Supreme Court Justices, Places 3, 5, and 9;
Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Places 2, 5, and 6.

On the
national level, several are running to take Randy Neugebauer’s place as
U.S. Representative, District 19: Jodey Arrington, Greg Garrett, John
Key, Donald May, and Glen Robertson, all from Lubbock; also Michael Bob
Starr (Abilene) Jason Corley (Slaton), Don Parrish (Plains), and DeRenda
Warren (Smyer).

And of course, Republicans will finally get the
chance to vote for the Presidential candidate of their choice: Donald
Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, John Kasich, or Ben Carson; while
Democrats can choose between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

Campaign signs for the local elections are all over town.

--o--

MAY 7 ELECTION FOR CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS NOT NECESSARY

The
May 7 election set by the Roscoe City Council at its last meeting will
be canceled at the Council’s next meeting as it will not be necessary.
Only two people, Suzie Alford and Edwin Duncan, signed up to run for the
two available Council seats, so each will be sworn in for a new
two-year term.

Alford is completing her first two-year term in
May, and Duncan was appointed by the Council to complete the term of Ken
Brawley, who resigned his position in December for health reasons.

--o--

BEAL, LAVALAIS LISTED AS ALL-STATE FOOTBALL SELECTIONS

Brayden Beal Kevin Lavalais

The
Texas Sportswriters Association has named its All-State football teams
for all classes, and two Plowboys received Honorable Mention in class
2A. Senior Kevin Lavalais was selected as one of the wide receivers, and
junior Brayden Beal was listed as one of the quarterbacks. The 2A teams
included both divisions I and II.

Congratulations, Brayden and Kevin!

--o--

SOUTHERN BELLE SALON ADDS COSMETOLOGIST AND MASSAGE THERAPIST

The Southern Belle Salon

Changes
are going on at the Southern Belle Salon at 200 Main. The tanning bed
is gone, but in addition to getting your hair taken care of, you can now
get a manicure and pedicure, and starting next Tuesday, March 1, you’ll
also be able to get a massage.

The new cosmetologist is Kristi
Graham Stacy, and the new massage therapist is Megan Thompson. For
appointments for manicures and pedicures, contact Kristi at
325-660-8476. For massage therapy, phone Megan at 325-236-0187, and for
hair care, phone Eden Baker at 325-338-5993.

--o--

HIGHLAND GIRLS FALL TO GRADY IN REGIONAL QUARTERFINALS

Lenorah
Grady ended the Highland girls’ basketball team quest for another trip
to state in Big Spring last night with a 53-49 victory over the Lady
Hornets.

The scoring by quarters shows the kind of back and forth game it was:

Highland 13 37 43 49
Grady 18 29 45 53

In a physical contest, the ultimate difference in the outcome was the
making of free throws, as the Grady girls rarely if ever missed. Hannah
Allen hit some clutch 3-pointers for Highland, but ultimately it wasn't
enough.

--o--

DOLLY SHINE AT LUMBERYARD SATURDAY NIGHT

Dolly Shine

Dolly
Shine is a Texas Country band from Stephenville that became regulars in
Lubbock before going on the road. They bill themselves as a high-energy
band with genuine, soul-soothing lyrics, fiddle solos, and penned
guitar licks. They have produced the CDs Dolly Shine, Room to Breathe,
and All In and are currently working on a new full-length album,
Walkabout, due for release in June.

They will take the stage around 9:30pm. For reservations or more information, contact the Lumberyard at 325-766-2457.

--o--

WEATHER REPORT: A LITTLE OF EVERYTHING

Skies were overcast Sunday and Monday.

The
weather this past week was varied to say the least. From Wednesday
through Saturday, it was nice and warm with sunny skies, but Sunday was
cooler and completely overcast, Monday was even cooler with clouds and a
sharp north breeze, and yesterday felt downright cold with overcast
skies and again the sharp north breeze. The high temperature of the week
came on Friday at 83°F with Thursday at 81° and Saturday at 79° not far
behind. Yesterday’s high was only 45° with a strong wind, and with all
the warm weather we’d gotten used to, it felt colder than that. The low
for the week was this morning’s 31°, and there was ice on the puddle in my driveway.

I should also mention that we
finally got a little rain on Monday night, ranging from a quarter up to
a half-inch, depending on location. Weatherman Kenny Landfried recorded
an official .3” here in town, but I had .36” in my rain gauge. Although
it wasn’t much, it was still welcome because it’s the first
precipitation we’ve had since January 9 when we got a paltry .05”.

The
rain was supposed to come on Saturday and Sunday, but both those days
were dry, although we did get a little drizzle on Sunday. Roofers were
putting up a new metal roof on my house on Saturday, but they were
missing a couple of pieces that cover the ridge, and I was worried they
wouldn’t get them up if it did rain. It wasn’t until late Monday
afternoon that they finally got everything in place, and about four
hours later, it started raining. So, I’m thankful to the rain gods for
holding off until my roof was finished.

Today should be warmer
with sunny skies and a high of 63°. The low tomorrow morning, however,
should be close to freezing. Friday will be warmer with a high of 66° or
so, and then the next few days after that will all be sunny with highs
in the seventies and lows in the upper forties and low fifties.

The long range forecast is for a 50%-60% chance of rain on Election Day next Tuesday. Let’s hope they’re right this time.